The Day the Earth Stood Still
by Cyanide666999
Summary: Draco Malfoy is into Experimental Magic. Happy Potter's job is to keep Draco out of trouble.


**The Day the Earth Stood Still**

Harry eyed Malfoy. He knew the man was up to something. The man was always up to something. The hard part was deciding how serious it was. Malfoy's "projects," as he called them, would range anywhere from mild annoyance to catastrophic. Usually they were in between, but there were a few times Harry had to prevent Malfoy from accidentally blowing something up.

Ever since school, Malfoy had taken up the hobby of "Experimental Magic." It was only a hobby since, as Malfoy himself put it, "Jobs are not something we Malfoys actually have. If someone wants to bribe us to do something for them, then so be it, but we never lower ourselves to hold an actual job without some kind of power." His hobby covered anything and everything Malfoy or a client wanted. Mostly the clients were himself, but on a rare occasion, he had been asked to create a spell or potion.

The most important thing about Malfoy's hobby was the great lengths he would go through to make sure Harry stayed away. If it was nothing to dangerous, Harry would get a "Not now Potter!" If it leaned towards the illegal side of things, there would be an emergency with Harry's name on it somewhere else. This usually happened at about the same time Harry would notice Malfoy hadn't been heard from in a few days.

But today, Malfoy did nothing. He looked like he was too absorbed in his work to even notice Harry, but he would have noticed Harry bursting through the shields around the place. No, Malfoy was up to something. Something, Harry had the feeling, that could actually lead to a catastrophe.

Harry watched Malfoy flip through his notes. He liked watching the man work. It intrigued him. When something wasn't going the way Malfoy wanted, he would get this slight twitch in his right eye. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. When all hell was about to break loose, he would bite his lower lip on the left hand side. Harry knew all the signs to what was going on in Malfoy's head. This was why he was Malfoy's personal Auror. He felt more like Malfoy's probation officer/babysitter if anything, but anytime Malfoy would get himself into trouble, Harry was the one to clean up the mess. Harry half suspected Malfoy pulled strings for it to be this way, just so he could torment Harry, but Harry knew it was untrue. Malfoy would have gloated about it.

Malfoy let out a half smile. He had found what he was looking for and whispered a spell. Another shield went up, but this one just covered the room. This worried Harry. Before Harry could question Malfoy, Malfoy picked up what looked like a Time Turner, except the sand in it was red. He placed it around his neck then bit the left side of his bottom lip. Harry's eyes went the size of saucers. He knew he had to stop Malfoy before he did whatever he was about to do. Harry took off as if to tackle Malfoy from 20 feet. Malfoy turned his head towards Harry, surprised to see Harry tackling him. Then it was like time started slowing down. Harry made full contact with Malfoy, but this caused the Time Turner thing to fly into the air where it spun slowly then seemed to stop in mid-air. Harry blinked. Then blinked again. It was still hanging in mid air.

"Potter you idiot!" Harry looked at Malfoy confused. "You imbecile! What were you thinking? What if I landed on that instead of throwing it!? Did you stop to think? When did you even get here? You're supposed to be in Scotland dealing with a talking toilet!"

Malfoy pushed Harry off of him then stood up and brushed himself off. Harry was slightly confused and didn't move. Did that mean Malfoy was so into his work he never noticed Harry at all?

"Oh bloody hell! You're under its effect! I thought I set up the ward to cover this room, but I guess it only covered me."

"No Malfoy, I'm fine. What in the world are you doing? What is that?" Harry stood up and made a reach for it.

"Don't even Potter!" Malfoy yelled and smacked his hand. "It's a time stopper. I was making it for myself so I would have more time to work without you barging in. This was suppose to be it's trial run. It was only suppose to stop time for 1 minute. But I don't know how many times it flipped over."

"Which part?"

"The whole thing, Potter. I can see how the chain was flying through the air suggesting that the whole thing was being turned. And that controls how many hours it will be like that. But still, it shouldn't have affected anything in this room. My shield must not have worked, though I wonder how you are not affected then?"

Harry closed his eyes for a moment, replaying what had just happened. "4. It flipped 4 times give or take a few. And I don't know Malfoy, since I felt your shield go up. What's going to happen in about 4 hours then?" Harry was doing his best to keep calm.

"I don't know! I'm surprised it worked the first time! That's why I was going for just 1 minute!"

Malfoy picked up a quill on his desk very slowly then let go. It didn't move. Malfoy looked inquisitively at it, then began to move it back and forth, picking up speed with each pass till he was shaking it, then just let it go. It stayed floating in mid air. Satisfied with the results, Malfoy plucked the Time Stopper out of midair, then slung it around his neck. Instantly the Time Stopper was affected by gravity and hung properly.

Harry looked at the owl in Malfoy's lab and noticed that it was unmoving.

"So if we are touching it, it is not affected by the time stopper?" Harry asked.

"Reasonable deduction, Potter, but it could be that any magical creature is not affected by it. Luckily, I have one on the grounds." Malfoy walked to the window and looked to the stables. He saw that at that particular time, the unicorn Malfoy had been told 6 months ago to stop trying to tame was currently standing there, looking like a statue. "Nope. Just you and I. Quick. Try to leave this office."

Harry opened the door with ease and walked out. All seemed alright.

"Well then what the hell was the point of that shield!?" Malfoy yelled angrily.

"As a pretty distraction from the real issue here. You stopped time! Who the hell thinks 'Damn that Potter for doing his job! I'm going to stop time. That will show him!'"

"A sexy evil genius such as myself. I thought that much was obvious. So, why aren't you in Scotland?"

Harry pushed his glasses up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told Ron either he can deal with it or deal with you. You're slipping Malfoy," Harry teased then looked at the clock above Malfoy's head. "Is everything affected by your Time Stopper?"

"Everything in the known Universe except light. One does not simply stop light. That's just preposterous."

Harry eyed Malfoy suspiciously for a moment. Granted since school, Malfoy let the uptight pureblood wizard act go, but Harry was unsure if that actually meant he engaged in Muggle activities. Harry was beginning to suspect he did.

Malfoy eyed his wand and pointed in Harry's direction then let his trademark sneer play across his face. He waved his wand and the door slammed shut in Harry's face and locked. Harry glared at the door.

"Potter," Harry heard Malfoy's muffled voice yell. "That won't make the door open. Come back before the time is up though. I don't know what will happen if you aren't here when time restores itself. Now get out of my house."

Harry knew Malfoy wasn't up to anything. He only worked on one thing at a time. And the Time Stopper shield had failed so he would go head first into that. At least with a few extra hours, Harry could finally clear his desk of paperwork.

Harry apparated to the Ministry of Magic. It was odd seeing the foyer filled with people, all unmoving. Not wanting to accidentally cause other people to deal with the timelessness, Harry took the stairs to his floor. No one ever took the stairs so he wouldn't have to worry about running into anyone.

Harry cringed slightly at his desk. Dealing with Malfoy always caused extra paperwork. He had to deal with Malfoy himself and whatever antics Malfoy came up with to send Harry off on a random mission. Harry kept two stacks on his desk, his normal work then the bin he called 'The Dragon's Bin' which was always twice as big as the other pile. It was also currently the only paperwork he had.

Harry let out a long drawn out sigh and sat down to work. Each form made him recall Malfoy's shenanigans. At the time, Harry had always wanted to strangle the blond, but recalling them, he couldn't help but chuckle. While trying to tame the unicorn, Malfoy decided the first step was to name it. It snorted at him with every name he tried giving it, on one occasion actually blowing snot on him. He soon realized the unicorn was a male and tried the naming game again. The unicorn had finally agreed on Demetri and showed his agreement by not only following Malfoy but also by trying to eat his hair.

A few months before that, Malfoy had been working on a potion for a client. They wanted it as a temporary memory loss potion. Harry had been sitting in Malfoy's lab, watching the blond create when Harry noticed the potion bubbling too furiously. Harry had tried to warn Malfoy, but he wouldn't listen. Alas the potion exploded. Harry's quick moving had Malfoy only walking away with a few singed hairs.

Harry was surprised when his paperwork was completed. He realized he had probably been at it for about four hours and noted no one was moving. Quickly, Harry left for the lobby to apparate back to Malfoy's place. Once there Harry unlocked and opened Malfoy's lab door.

Malfoy was once again pouring over books. This time Harry made his presence known.

"So it's been about 4 hours and nothing has changed."

Malfoy looked at Harry as if logic had failed him. "Well then Potter, obviously the Time Stopper turned more than four times. Be a good little boy and go make me some food."

"Malfoy..." Harry started but was cut off.

"WHAT!? I'm hungry and too busy to bother with such things as preparing a meal. YOU are just going to sit there and stare at me, effectively distracting me from the important task at hand. You know where the kitchen is. I feel like eating something Asian."

Harry rolled his eyes, but he was getting hungry. Not wanting Malfoy to have the upper hand, Harry stood in the doorway, crossed his arms and gave the blond a look that was usually reserved for children in trouble.

It was Mafoy's turn to roll his eye. "Please Oh-Great-Savior-Of-The-Wizarding-World," he started, words dripping with sarcasm, "make me some delicious spicy Sesame Chicken!"

"Was that so hard? And the full title is Great and Almighty Savior of the Wizarding World and the Ass of Draco Malfoy."

"I don't blame you," Malfoy stated turning back to his books, "it is a nice ass."

Potter chuckled and headed to the kitchen. This wasn't the first time he had cooked for Malfoy. The first time had been a few months after Harry had been assigned to keep an eye on Malfoy.. One afternoon, Harry made his way into Malfoy's lab, well tried to. Harry couldn't open the door so logic told him to blow it open. Almost 62 cubic meters of water came bursting out, carrying out parts of the lab and an unconscious Malfoy.

Malfoy wasn't breathing. Without thinking, Harry started CPR. All the while yelling things at Draco. Malfoy came to, spitting out water and coughing.

After a few minutes of heavy breathing Malfoy spoke up. "Harry, there is a spell for this emergency. If you wanted to kiss me, you should have told me earlier." Malfoy chuckled, which sent him into a coughing fit. Harry was glad for it. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about magic in his moment of panic. "I don't know about you," Malfoy wheezed, "but i'm starving."

Wanting to get away, Harry stood up, allowing his robes to drip on Malfoy's face, and made his way towards the kitchen. Neither of them acknowledged the usage of first names that day, but that day marked the turning point for the two.

Harry came back into the lab with two bowls and cups on a tray. He set the tray down on top of Malfoy's book, effectively letting the man know he was eating. Harry sat across from him and picked up his bowl and fork.

"Where are the chopsticks?" Malfoy asked offended.

"You don't have any." Harry answered, shoving a fork full in his mouth.

"I swear, it's like you forgot you are a wizard." Malfoy huffed but followed suit. After a few bites, Malfoy spoke up, "Where did you learn to cook like this, Potter?"

Harry was shocked. Never before had Malfoy asked him a personal question. Harry quickly composed himself but chewed a little slowly, trying to think of a way to answer Malfoy without saying too much, "I guess I've just always known how to cook."

The look on Malfoy's face told Harry he was unhappy with the response. "Don't beat around the bush. I've gathered that you must not have had the best life growing up despite being Boy Wonder."

"Did you just make a Batman reference?"

"Shut up Potter and answer my question. I asked it first. Did those Muggles really treat you like a slave hoping to beat the Magic out of you?"

Harry's eyes grew wide. He knew Malfoy always had information gathers, but he must have befriended someone close to Harry. Really close.

"In a way they did," Harry answered slowly as Malfoy took another bite of food. "Not really beat it out of me. They were always too scared, except my cousin. But no, I did not have the best lives until I found out I was a wizard. And I would be the one cooking the meals. Who told you?"

"Yes that was a Batman reference. One time, before he was disowned, my uncle took me to a Muggle theater. He was a great man, but the movie we went and saw was Batman. Of course I liked it. A rich guy gets to do what he wants. And thats what I wanted to be. That's actually what I thought you would be like. It's why I wanted to be your friend on the first day of school. I mean you were a rich kid without parents... who did in a way rid your town, the wizarding world, of its criminals. You just don't do it dressed up in a costume. You should. Would be awesome. Then Weasle could be your Boy Wonder."

Harry stared at Malfoy. They had never talked about themselves before. Usually it was something to do with the Wizarding World.

"A few things, Malfoy," Harry began and set down his bowl. "You're more Tony Starks then Bruce Wayne. I mean, the money is definitely there either way, but Batman hires someone to make his cool things, Ironman makes them himself. I mean minus the drinking problem, you are sooooo Tony Starks. Second, you wanted to be my friend because... Batman? I mean that is a new one. And I have never had anyone compare me to Bruce Wayne before. I don't think Ron would want to be called my sidekick, nor Hermione. And most importantly, stop dodging my question, who told you about me? Who?"

"Really? You think I'm devilishly handsome and smart like Tony Starks? Why thank you Potter."

Harry was about to ask Malfoy again when an alarm went off. It wasn't one of Malfoy's normal alarms. Malfoy, picked up a book, and began waving his wand around whispering a spell. The noise stopped and Malfoy looked at the tip of his wand which was glowing a burnt orange color. The blond glared at his wand a bit before shaking it and setting it on the table.

"Well, I have good news and I have bad news Potter. Good news is time will not be stuck like this forever. Bad news since we don't know how long it is going to be like this, we need to stay in this room. If time corrects itself and you are not within the shield, there is a great chance you would live out the rest of your life as if everything around you is going a thousand times slower, which in real time means you would live your whole life in the span of about 12 seconds."

"All that from the color of your wand?" Harry asked, confused.

"Some of it. The rest was what I discovered while you were doing... things."

Harry picked up his bowl and continued eating. Since Malfoy had finished, he was face first into his notes and books again. Once finished Harry stared at the dishes. He didn't want to leave and take the chance of having a forever lasting 12 second life, but he couldn't leave them there.

"You're a wizard." Malfoy stated. "Do you forget you know magic at times?" With a flick of his wrist, the dishes were gone.

"No, I grew up as in the Muggle world. Magic usually isn't my first solution."

"Granger has no qualms using magic," Malfoy pointed out with a slight smile and arching an eyebrow.

Harry knew that sometimes Malfoy would call up Hermione about whatever he was working on, but now he wondered just how often.

"Hermione is an exception to almost any rule."

"Sure, I think you just forget." And with that Malfoy went back to his work.

Harry had a hard time keeping himself entertained while waiting for time to right itself. He watched Malfoy work a bit, then he tried reading one of the many books in the room but realized he really had no interest in the magical theory. After a bit he conjured up himself a deck of cards and started playing solitaire. It reminded him of his time in the cupboard under the stairs. At one time, he had taken a deck of cards Dudley had thrown away in a hissy fit after being beaten at a card game by one of his friends. He had seen Aunt Petunia play solitaire before, just once but that's all it took for Harry to understand it. It was also the only time Aunt Petunia had been somewhat nice to Harry. After his 10th game, Harry looked up to check on Malfoy.

The blond was face first into a book. Harry smiled to himself. He had found the man asleep on his work a dozen or so times before. Harry would usually just throw a blanket over him and leave. A few recent times, Harry had been concerned Malfoy was going to face dive off the stool so he had carried the man upstairs. Every time though, he watched the man sleep. Just for a bit.

Harry couldn't help it. There were emotions he felt for the spoiled brat, but Harry kept them bottled up. It was his job to look after Malfoy. Nothing more.

Feeling tired himself, Harry cleared a space in the middle of the room. Grinning to himself, Harry transfigured one of the tables into a double bed. He then conjured up pillows and blankets.

"How about dem magics," Harry mumbled, shoving his wand into his robes.

Carefully, so to not wake him, Harry picked up the sleeping man and carried him to the bed, gently set him down, and took off his shoes. Ever since the exploding glass incident, Malfoy wore shoes in his lab. Satisfied, Harry took off his own shoes and robes then climbed into the other side of the bed.

No sooner had he pulled the covers over himself, Malfoy rolled over and snuggled up to Harry.

"Fucking Harry Potter, doesn't read bedtime stories, Teddy," Malfoy mumbled sleepily, throwing an arm and leg over Harry.

"I'm not..." Harry began but was cut off.

"Shut it Harry, Malfoys do what Malfoys want. This Malfoy wants a soft bed, bedtime story and to snuggle his new found Teddy Bear. Since you don't read bedtime stories nor seem able to transfigure softer bed, you will be my snuggle bear. Snuggle bears do not talk, they snuggle back."

"Malfoy," Harry said in a warning voice.

"We are fucking cuddling Harry. The rules of cuddling are simple. You call me Draco and you cuddle back. Not following the rules means I hex your ass out of my time bubble." As if to prove his point, Malfoy positioned himself so Harry's only option was to put an arm around the blond or end up on the floor. Harry obligated, and wrapped his arms around Draco. Draco sighed, "'ight Harry."

Harry smiled. "Night Draco."

As Malfoy fell into a deep sleep, Harry stayed awake. He couldn't help it, he was suddenly full of energy. He was holding Draco Malfoy. And Draco Malfoy returned his feelings. Harry's smile faded. Or Draco Malfoy was a strange sleeper. Harry had never experienced Malfoy talking in his sleep before. Perhaps he was just having a dream where Harry was a giant teddy bear.

As if sensing his mood change, Malfoy gave Harry a squeeze. Harry decided to enjoy the moment and pulled Draco impossibly closer before drifting off to sleep.

Harry woke up suddenly. Something felt off. Draco was still snuggled up to Harry, but something was wrong. Harry closed his eyes, everything about Draco being in his embrace was right. No wait, Draco's breathing was too deep and uneven, as if he was trying to fake sleeping. He was also rubbing his foot against Harry's, almost as if unconsciously. Harry smiled.

"You say anything to ruin this moment, Harry, and so help you. You know what I am capable of."

"I believe you just ruined it, Draco."

Draco chuckled, "No it's still fine."

Unable to stay still, Harry started lightly rubbing Draco's back. Questions started stirring through Harry's mind. Draco sighed and pulled back a little to look at Harry. Harry had a hard time meeting his eyes, but did. The light blue was a swirl of emotions.

"You ruined it," Draco announced almost upset. "You started thinking, which means now we need to do that thing where we talk."

"I didn't say that," Harry said defensively. He was not going to be the woman in this relationship.

Draco raised a perfect eyebrow, "Please, I can read you like an open book. Don't play stupid. Besides, the sooner we get this done with, the sooner we can carry on." The last bit Draco said with a devilish grin.

Questions spun around Harry's head. Where to start? What about the future? Finally it landed on one.

"How long?" It was simple and answered so much.

"Too long, Batman."

"This doesn't mean I won't still do my job and stop you from doing stupid things," Harry stated seriously.

Draco grabbed Harry by the nape of his neck and pulled him close enough to kiss, "Good. Just means you'll have to visit more often to make sure I'm staying out of trouble." With that, Draco shut Harry up.

Even with Draco being a great distraction, the feeling something wrong wouldn't go away.

"What is it?" Draco asked breathing heavily.

"I'm not sure." Harry answered.

"To many cloths," Draco replied, shoving a hand up Harry's shirt. And started kissing Harry again.

Harry grabbed Draco's hand. "Oh god, you have no idea how I wish that was it." Harry kissed Draco deeply. "Something's," Draco kissed Harry, "off." Harry finished before being kissed again.

"Ignore it." Draco thrusted his hips into Harry's, "Want this to much."

Draco started kissing Harry again. Harry grabbed Draco's hips, giving in. Draco's hard body, the evening glow, the pent up desire, everything was to much for Harry. Not wanting to deal with Draco's ridiculous buttons, Harry ripped open Draco's shirt. The way the sunlight hit Draco's skin only fueled Harry's desire more.

Realization hit Harry, he knew what was wrong. Time slowed. The door burst open right as Draco decided to bite Harry. Harry who was trying to stop Draco, let out a particularly loud moan right as flaming red hair became visible. Then Harry felt it. The time stopper was still around Draco's neck. Without looking, he flipped the smallest part. Everything stopped moving except himself and Draco.

Actually Draco did stop moving. He was panting heavily though. Slowly, he turned to the door. "Ah, something was off."

"Yeah," Harry panted, "At least 6 hours have past. I tried telling you."

"Which one did you flip?" Draco made no effort to move, as if moving was going to restore time.

"The smallest one, just once though. So we have a minute."

Draco turned back to Harry, devilish grin in place. "Actually, we have an hour. I miscalculated when I made this." Draco turned back to the door, "Your sidekick ruined the moment."

Harry laughed. "Yeah, he's pretty good at that. Can he see us?"

Draco sighed, "Sort of. He will see everything we are doing all at once. He will either thing he mistook what he saw or think we moved superfast." Draco kissed Harry one last time before letting him go. "Guess we are about to find out."

Draco rolled out of bed and picked his wand up off the floor. It was glowing a light blue. A sure sign the wards had been taken down. Draco shook his wand and pointed it at Harry. Quickly Harry stood up. The blankets and pillows disappeared, the bed returned to a table and all the furniture returned to their proper place. Draco blew at the tip of his wand.

"How 'bout dem magics," he mockingly said.

Harry glared at Draco. "You were pretending to be asleep?"

"It wouldn't have been pretend had someone used magic to move things," Draco stuck his tongue out a Harry. "Besides, I had to lure you into a false sense of security to make sure I was reading you right. One bed was screaming 'I love you Draco Malfoy, take advantage of my Gryffindor-ness.'"

Harry stood nose to nose with the blond. "How much of this was an elaborate plan to get me into bed?"

Draco grinned, "Since we ate. I knew how much time we had. The orange glow was my shield warning me time was almost up, I really didn't know what 'almost was' so I just told you to say here. You mad?"

"Slytherin cunning at it's finest." Harry said and passionately kiss Draco. "How much longer till Ron comes out?"

"Not long enough," Draco answered and kissed Harry. "When this is done, we are so going to have fun."

Harry laughed and stepped away from Draco. "Until then, let's play stupid."

Harry picked his robes up off the floor and put on his shoes before taking his usual spot. Draco, having fixed his cloths, sat down at his work table, pulled out his wand and shook it. It admitted a yellow-green light slowly turning greener. He huffed and shook his wand again and the light blue light was back. He winked at Harry before turning to a frozen Ron. Draco put on his "really? are you an idiot" look he reserved for Ron. They both sat staring at Ron for a few minutes before time started again.

Ron pointed his wand to where the two were and hour ago. "Stu..." Ron blinked and shook his head. "What the..." he turned towards Malfoy, "but you were just..."

"Just what?" Draco asked in an overly innocent voice.

"Harry! Bloody hell, don't you answer your wand anymore? Your desk was all cleaned. We were worried."

"No wand reception," Harry lied. "You know, shields and all. By the way, next time, don't announce your presence to him," Harry said and pointed at Draco's wand.

Draco waved his wand before putting it away.

"For 7 hours though? What have you been doing? You said you were just going to pop in real quick. And I swear I saw you two there!" Ron said pointing at the spot. "What's going in?"

"What do you think you saw, Weasle?" Draco asked teasingly/

"Well... um...nothing I guess." Ron said defeated. He glared at Draco. "Must be something you did."

"Usually is. We were actually having a jolly time here, painting each other nails, telling stories, playing spin the bottle, watching Muggle movies. Care to join us?"

Ron's eyes grew the size of dinner plates. "Harry," he whispered, "did Malfoy test his own potion on himself again?"

Harry laughed. "No Ron, Malfoy's in a good mood. And I'm fine. Fantastic even."

Ron paled. "That last shield put me in an alternate universe. Hermione is going to kill me."

Draco snorted. "Yes, Weasley. An alternate universe where Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are shagging. Better go Floo Hermione and tell her."

"WHAT!?" Ron yelled and raised his wand.

"God... god damn it Draco." Harry put his wand to his head and tapped it a few times. "Ron, Floo Hermione and tell her to get here. I guess I have some explaining to do."

* * *

Guess who's back!

Muse: For a limited time only! Get your golden deluxe addition before she goes into hiding again!

Hush you! I'm sorry if I missed some spelling or grammar errors. I kind of wrote part of this on a phone...

Muse: It's what happens when you're eating in public talking about great story ideas.

Then prof read it on a phone at 3am

Muse: It's what happens when you're a bed thinker.

I read a book containing time travel. Why? because time travel is awesome! But then I thought, "You know what's better than time travel? STOPPING TIME!" Why go back in time or into the future when you could simply stop time.

Muse: Second best thing? PORTAL GUNS! *Pew Pew* WHEEEEE!

Harry Potter meets Portal. Could get interesting...

Thanks for reading guys! less than three youz!


End file.
